(45–47) “Do those who devise evil schemes feel secure that Allah will not cause the earth to swallow them, or that punishment will not come upon them from where they do not perceive? * Or that He will not seize them while they go about their affairs, for they cannot escape Him? * Or that He will not seize them while they are in dread? Surely your Lord is Most Kind, Most Merciful.”

This is a warning from Allah Most High to those guilty of disbelief, denial, and every kind of sin: He may seize them with punishment unawares, without their realizing it. Punishment may overtake them from above, or from beneath them when the earth swallows them or through some other means. It may seize them while they are going about their affairs, preoccupied and giving no thought to punishment, or while they are in dread of it. In none of these circumstances can they escape Allah. Rather, they are within His grasp, and their forelocks are in His hand.

Yet He is Most Kind, Most Merciful. He does not hasten to punish sinners; rather, He grants them respite, preserves their well-being, and provides for them even while they offend Him and harm His allies. Despite this, He opens for them (1) the doors of repentance, calls them to abandon the evil deeds that harm them, and promises them in return the finest honors and forgiveness for the sins they have committed. Let the sinner, then, be ashamed before his Lord that Allah’s blessings descend upon him at every moment (2), while his acts of disobedience ⦗442⦘ ascend to his Lord at all times. Let him know that Allah grants respite but does not neglect, and that when He seizes a sinner, He seizes him with the grasp of One Almighty and All-Powerful. Let him therefore repent to Him and turn back to Him in all his affairs, for He is Most Kind, Most Merciful. Hasten, then—hasten—to His vast mercy and all-embracing kindness, and follow the paths that lead to the bounty of the Most Merciful Lord: namely, fearing Him and doing what He loves and is pleased with.